Madison Kwiecinski – Editor-in-Chief 

Mvk5945@psu.edu 

On Tuesday, January 17, former Governor Tom Wolf left office, and Governo Josh Shapiro was sworn in as Governor in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Shapiro was sworn into office with his hand atop three Jewish Bibles outside the state Capitol. 

Each of the three Bibles he places his hand on has significance to himself or the history of the state. One of the bibles was his family bible. The second bible was from the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where a 2018 gunman took the lives of eleven worshippers. The third bible was an Army-issued edition that was carried by Herman Hershman of Philadelphia on D-Day in 1944. 

Shapiro took the opportunity to celebrate his blowout win for the position, defeating the Trump-backed Republican nominee Doug Mastriano by huge margins. 

“I am humbled to stand before you today as Pennsylvania’s 48th Governor,” Shapiro said as he took the stage. “Along the winding road that had led to this moment, I have been grounded in my faith and family.” 

Chief Justice Debra Todd presided over Shapiro as he took the oath of office. Previous Governors, members of Congress, lawmakers, and thousands of others gathered to witness the inauguration. 

Shaprio’s election is unique, as he is preceding a Governor who was a member of his own party. The last time a non-incumbent of the same party as their predecessor won the election for Governor was in 1966. 

Shapiro asked several people to join him on stage during his inauguration, who he said were meant to represent both his accomplishments as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General and his commitment to bipartisan policy in office. Among those who joined him on stage were two widows of state troopers who were killed in the line of duty, survivors of child sexual abuse, and parents of children who were killed by gun violence. 

Shapiro won this election by a large portion of the vote, beating his far-right republican opponent by nearly 15 full percentage points. The Democratic voting base has been inflamed largely due to the January 6 attack on the capitol and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. A combination of the inflamed democratic electorate and Shaprio’s natural appeal to moderates secured his large margin of victory. 

However, now Shaprio must go through the process of picking a cabinet, to which he has already appointed a few GOP members. Also, each new law approved under Shapior’s term as Governor must be able to receive approval from the PA Senate, where Republicans hold a six-seat majority. 

Shapiro has not currently addressed both legislatures but will have to do so soon as it is nearly time to present a budget plan. On March 7, Governor Shaprio will have to deliver his first speech to the joint session of the Legislature in order to propose his budget plan. 

In order to become Governor, it was necessary for Shapiro to resign as Pennsylvania’s Governor. Temporarily, Michelle Henry, Shapiro’s top Deputy of the last six years, has been left in charge. Shapiro plans to nominate Henry to fill the last two years of his term. 

Shapiro has also placed an emphasis on strengthening the people’s beliefs in the democratic system again, something he found important enough to mark some of his first words on the inauguration stage. 

“Here in Pennsylvania, we didn’t allow the extremists who peddle lies to drown out the truth,” Shapiro stated at the inauguration. “We showed that our system works and that our elections are free and fair.”